BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

03/12/2007

Belarusian Opposition Ready To Ask U.S. To Lift Sanctions

Belarusian opposition leaders on November 30 agreed on a statement to the government promising that they will ask the United States to lift its sanctions against Belarus if the Belarusian government takes steps toward democratization, Belapan reported. The petition was signed by former presidential candidate Alyaksandr Milinkevich; Anatol Lyabedzka, the chairman of the United Civic Party; Syarhey Kalyakin, the leader of the Belarusian Party of Communists; Anatol Lyaukovich, acting chairman of the Social Democratic Party; youth activists Zmitser Fedaruk and Pavel Sevyarynets; and Enira Branitskaya. All of them will visit the United States between December 2 and 8. "We call on the Belarusian government to start abiding by generally accepted democratic principles and release all political prisoners, stop the persecution of opposition activists, and create equal conditions for the media," the statement said. In exchange, the opposition leaders promised to appeal to the U.S. government to encourage investment in the Belarusian economy, give a loan to the Belarusian government to carry out market reforms, and alleviate the consequences of higher energy prices, as well as to ask Washington to lift the sanctions against Belarusian officials and state-run enterprises. "Our abilities in Washington, Berlin, Vilnius, Warsaw are far greater than the Belarusian authorities have, this is unquestionable," RFE/RL's Belarus Service quoted Lyabedzka as saying. AM

Source:

http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2007/12/3-cee/cee-031207.asp